1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly, and particularly to an electrical connector assembly having an improvedcontact arrangement.
2. Description of Prior Art
As the demands for high bandwidth and low latency in computer technology increases, the emerging InfiniBand(trademark) architecture is being developed by the information industry. InfiniBand architecture de-couples an I/O subsystem from memory by utilizing point-to-point connections rather than a shared bus. InfiniBand products are ideally suited for clustering, I/O extension, and native attachment in many network applications and can be used in high-performance server applications, providing a cost-effective transition from existing technologies.
To achieve the technology performance of the InfiniBand architecture, an InfiniBand product must provide a sufficiently large number of signal contacts with a fairly fine pitch for signal transmission. Each contact comprises a mating portion for engaging with a corresponding terminal of a complementary connector and a soldering portion opposite to the mating portion. The soldering portions are adapted for soldering to a corresponding number of first circuit traces formed on a printed circuit board (PCB). The PCB further forms another corresponding number of second circuit tracesfor electrically connecting the first circuit traces to corresponding conductors of a cable, thereby establishing point to point connections between the conductors of the cable and the signal contacts of the InfiniBand product. If using a conventional arrangement, the first and the second circuit traces will be very densely arranged in two parallel rows on one surface of the PCB to correspond to the soldering portions of the contacts. Therefore, the conductors of the cable will be very difficult to accurately solder to corresponding second circuit traces due to the structural limitation of the cable itself. Accordingly, one conductor may easily be soldered to an unmateable second circuit trace or may short to another conductor due an operator""s carelessness.
Hence, an electrical connector assembly with an improved contact structure is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
A main object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector assembly having an improved contact arrangement for facilitating point-to-point connections with a cable
An electrical connector assembly in accordance with the present invention comprises a first electrical connector, a second electrical connector mated with the first electrical connector and a PCB attached with the first connector. The first connector comprises a first main body and a plurality of conductive first contacts retained in the first main body and spaced apart from each other with a fine pitch distance. Each first contact comprises a retaining portion, and a mating portion and a soldering portion extending from opposite ends of the retaining portion. The mating portions are arranged in a single row and the soldering portions are arranged in alternating upper and lower groups extending along upper and lower rows. Each upper or lower group comprises three adjacent soldering portions each extending obliquely upward or downward from a corresponding retaining portion for soldering to a corresponding first and third circuit trace formed correspondingly on a top and a bottom surfaces of the PCB. A row of second and fourth circuit traces is formed adjacent to the first and third circuit traces, respectively, on the top and bottom surfaces of the PCB, respectively. The second and fourth circuit traces are spaced apart from each other by a distance much larger than the fine pitch distance between the first contacts. Two opposite ends of each second and fourth circuit trace are electrically connected with a corresponding first and third circuit trace and with a corresponding conductor of the cable, respectively. Since the distance between the second and fourth circuit traces is much larger, the conductors of the cable are easily and securely soldered thereto.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed descriptionof the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.